The present invention relates generally to carrier units for feeding a transaction medium to a desired location and automatic transaction systems having the carrier units, and more particularly to a carrier unit for feeding a transaction medium in accordance with transaction information from an operation part to a processor part or an output part to a desired location (for example, the operation part) in a transaction system which locates the processor part and/or the output part apart from the operation part, and a transaction system having such a carrier unit.
The carrier unit of the present invention is advantageously applicable to an carrier unit which connects a dispensing outlet or a receiving inlet of a bill dispense unit (BDU), a bill recycle unit (BRU) or an envelope depository unit (EDU) to a facade in a conventional through-the-wall automatic teller machine (ATM), cash dispenser (CD), and automatic depository (AD) which are manufactured to be compatible with approximately 6-inch thick wall, when such an ATM, CD and AD are attempted to be installed in a thick wall having an approximately 13-inch thickness.
Hereupon, the BDUs are those units dedicated to withdrawal which dispense bills corresponding to the amount to be withdrawn when a user enters predetermined transaction information, such as card data, his/her PIN, and the amount to be withdrawn. The BRUs are depositing/withdrawing units which enable a user to not only deposit but also withdraw money through entry of the predetermined transaction information. The BRUs inspect the deposited bills and reuse them. The EDUs are units dedicated to deposit which process the amount to be deposited when a user envelops bill(s) and puts the envelope in the unit with entry of the predetermined transaction information.
The automatic transaction systems (or apparatuses) are those which accept and/or dispense one or more transaction media (such as bills, coins, cards, train tickets, entry tickets, securities, e.g., stock certificates, pari-mutuel tickets, lottery tickets, vouchers, slips, merchandise, diagnosis appointment cards) in accordance with the predetermined transaction information entered by a user. The automatic transaction systems therefore broadly cover automatic money loan machines, automatic card issue units, automatic bankbook output machines, etc., and the most typical type is an ATM installed at banks and other financial institutions.
Among various types of ATMs, a through-the-wall ATM has a facade (or a front cover) exposed outside the wall through which a user performs various transaction operations and inserts a card and a bankbook. The remaining part (or a housing body) accommodated inside the wall. The through-the-wall ATM works, when embedded into a building wall, for example, as a drive-through ATM.
The through-the-wall ATM usually has an approximately rectangular parallelepiped housing, and its facade is arranged parallel to the vertical surface of the housing. The housing accommodates a BDU and/or an EDU, or a BRU. A description will be given of a case where the housing has a BDU and an EDU. Attempting to withdraw money, a user manipulates the facade, inserts a card into it, and enters the predetermined transaction information, such as his/her PIN and the amount to be withdrawn. If the ATM (main controller) judges the transaction information to be correct based on a communication with a host computer, then it takes bills corresponding to the withdrawal amount from the BDU, and dispenses the bills from a bill dispensing outlet in the facade through a BDU bill dispensing part.
On the other hand, attempting to deposit money, a user manipulates the facade, inserts a card into it, and enters the predetermined transaction information, such as his/her PIN. If the ATM judges the transaction information to be correct based on the communication with the host computer, then it guides the user to envelop the bill(s) to be deposited and insert the envelope into an envelope inlet in the facade. The inserted envelope is received by an EDU body through an EDU envelope receiving part, printed with predetermined information, and accommodated in an EDU storage part.
The BDU bill dispensing part and the EDU envelope receiving part both project from the housing by approximately 6 inches in the neighborhood of facade""s bill dispensing outlet and envelope inlet which are respectively closed by shutters.
Thus, the prior art BDU dispensing part and EDU receiving part project from the housing by 6 inches towards the facade into the wall. This is because the Japanese financial institutions which install these through-the-wall ATMs have traditionally about 6-inch thick wall. As readily understood, when the wall has a thickness less than 6 inches, the facade projects from the wall surface.
However, ATMs will be likely to be installed in various locations hereafter due to the financial big bang, and these installation spots do not always have a wall with 6 inches or less. Internationally, it is not surprising that installation spots have a 13-inch or thicker wall, for example, in Europe.
When the 6-inch thick wall compatible through-the-wall ATM is sited in a 13-inch or thicker wall, the facade retreats from the user""s standing position (or wall surface) by 7 inches or longer towards the inside of the wall.
The facade located in such a concave of the wall is separated far from the user, providing bad operability: for example, it is inconvenient to take out bills from the bill dispensing outlet and insert an envelope into the envelope inlet. In addition, the sequestered facade is disadvantageously ill-lit and too dark to be operated smoothly at night.
It is conceivable to plane the wall under the facade so that a user can approach the facade, but this arduous solution is not so practical in light of cost. It is also conceivable to manufacture custom-made EDUs and BDUs with different projection lengths so as to match thickness of installation walls, but this is inefficient for manufacturing purposes.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and useful carrier unit and automatic transaction system having the carrier unit in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.
It is another object of the present invention to inexpensively and efficiently feed a transaction medium from a processing unit to a desired location apart from the processing unit and or from an input part to a processor unit apart from the input part.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide through-the-wall ATMs which can be compatible inexpensively and efficiently with thick walls having thickness of 13 inches or more, without changing basic designs of BDUs, EDUs, and etc. which were manufactured so as to be compatible with 6-inch thick walls that are universally accepted in the current Japanese financial institutions
In order to achieve the above objects, a carrier unit of the present invention includes a transaction medium receiving part which receives a transaction medium from a dispensing part of a processing unit in an automatic transaction system the processing unit including the dispensing part, the automatic transaction system, including an input part and the processing unit, the dispensing part dispensing the transaction medium in accordance with transaction information entered from the input part, and a feed system which feeds the transaction medium from the dispensing part of the processing unit, outward to the processing unit to a predetermined location apart from the dispensing part by a predetermined distance.
Another carrier unit of the present invention includes a transaction medium receiving part which receives a transaction medium from an input part of an automatic transaction system including the input part and a processing unit, the processing unit including a processing part and an entry part, the entry part being located apart from the input part, the processing part conducting a predetermined process for the transaction medium entered from the input part through the entry part, and a feed system which feeds the transaction medium from the input part to the entry part of the processing unit in the automatic transaction system.
An automatic transaction system of the present invention includes an input part for entering transaction information and receiving a transaction medium in accordance with the transaction information, a processing unit which processes the transaction information and dispenses the transaction medium, the processing unit including a dispensing part to dispense the transaction medium and a carrier unit which is connected to the dispensing part and feeds the transaction medium from the dispensing part to the input part, enabling the input part to be located apart from the dispensing part.
A carrier control method of the present invention for feeding a transaction medium from a dispensing part of a processing unit to an input part via a carrier unit in an automatic transaction system which includes the input part, the processing unit apart from the input part, and the carrier unit, the processing unit including the dispensing part and a processing part, the transaction medium being determined by the processing part based on transaction information entered from the input part, includes driving the carrier unit so as to send out the transaction medium from the dispensing part of the processing unit to the carrier unit, measuring a feeding period of time for which the carrier unit feeds the transaction medium, comparing the feeding period of time with reference time, and controlling driving of the carrier unit based on a result of the comparing step.
A carrier control method of the present invention for feeding a transaction medium entered by an input part from the input part to an entry part via a carrier unit in an automatic transaction system which includes the input part, a processing unit that includes the entry part apart from the input part, and the carrier unit, includes driving the carrier unit so as to send out the transaction medium from the input part to the carrier unit, measuring a feeding period of time for which the carrier unit feeds the transaction medium, comparing the feeding period of time with reference time, and controlling driving of the carrier unit based on a result of the comparing step.
According to the present invention, the carrier unit feeds a transaction medium which has been dispensed from the dispensing part of the processing unit to a predetermined location (such as, an input part) apart from the dispensing part by a desired distance. In addition, the transaction medium entered through the input part is fed by the carrier unit to the entry part of the processing unit apart from the input part by a desired distance. The feeding period in the carrier unit is used to control to carry the transaction medium.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.